Captive Audience

Sylvester Stallone’s new film, Tri-Star’s “Lock Up,” faced media critics last week. (It opened Friday.) But it goes before its toughest judges this week--when it’s screened for prisoners at East Jersey State Prison in Rahway, N.J.

The story is about a prison inmate trying to outwit a vicious and vengeful warden. A majority of footage was shot at the maximum security facility, with additional shooting at New Jersey’s Northern State Prison. Because convicts at both sites cooperated with filming--even appearing as extras--they’re getting special screenings.

Rahway warden Jack Rafferty has already seen the film at a New York preview. He told Outtakes that he’s giving it four out of four stars--though he has “some reservations” about the character of the sadistic warden, played by Donald Sutherland.

Rafferty called the movie “highly entertaining,” applauded Stallone’s performance (“this is the first time you get to see him in a real acting role”), and admitted he loved seeing his prison “as one of the stars.”

But he wasn’t too comfortable with a scene in which Stallone gets even with Sutherland--which had the audience cheering.

“I don’t plan on watching the movie with the prisoners,” Rafferty admitted. “I may be the warden--but I’m not stupid.”